The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band has been supporting Sooner Spirit for nearly a century. Unlike many other college bands, which began as military drill units, the Pride of Oklahoma had its beginnings as a pep band.

In the early years of the 1900s, both townspeople of Norman and students of OU participated in a band that played for football games.

Professor John Merrill started the first band in 1901, which was composed mostly of townspeople and disbanded after each football season. Lloyd Curtis founded the first continuous student band in 1904.

Today, the 300-member Pride of Oklahoma has members representing virtually every college and major on campus. The Pride of Oklahoma stands for excellence in musicianship, academics, school spirit, and commitment to our role in the surrounding community.

"Boomer Sooner" rings out at the end of each rehearsal, and that song is still the defining element of the University of Oklahoma.

Maybe that is why Sooner fans love the band so much: There is nothing that can compare to the first "go-go" at a football game when the Pride of Oklahoma marches the interlocking "OU" down the field playing "Boomer Sooner.

Sooner Sports Powered by FOX Sports is a multi-platform network that provides distribution of 1,000+ hours of Sooner sports programming annually on a variety of FOX Sports outlets, including FOX Sports Oklahoma, FOX Sports Southwest, and FOX College Sports. Additionally, the partnership between the University of Oklahoma and FOX Sports includes a comprehensive digital component featuring extensive "all-access" content not televised on FOX Sports networks including live streaming, archived games, and exclusive materials.

OU inspires champions today and prepares leaders for tomorrow by enabling its student-athletes to achieve their highest academic, athletic and personal aspirations. The OU Athletics Department sponsors 21 varsity sports with more than 600 student-athletes and is completely self-supporting.

Sooner Sports Properties, LLC, is the multimedia rights holder for athletics at the University of Oklahoma. Sooner Sports Properties is a joint venture of Learfield Communications, Tyler Media, LLC and Griffin Television.